🕰️ Rita Logan and the Dark Tower: The Case of the Silent Chimes
Chapter One: The Mystery at Midnight
The fog curled thick around the base of the Carillon tower, swallowing the streetlights and casting long shadows across Willow Creek’s town square. Rita Logan zipped up her jacket tighter as she walked home from the library, her best friend Georgia Bailey at her side.
“Did you hear that?” Georgia stopped, eyes wide. A faint ding... dong... echoed through the fog.
Rita paused. The Carillon bells had been silent since Mr. Franklin, the town’s beloved bell player, had passed away. Yet here, in the middle of the night, the bells seemed to whisper across the rooftops.
“No way,” Georgia breathed. “They’re ringing.”
Rita narrowed her eyes at the dark shape of the tower. “Come on. Let’s check it out.”
“Now?” Georgia’s voice squeaked. “It’s past curfew!”
But Rita was already crossing the street, her mind racing. The Carillon was supposed to be locked up—off-limits while the town council figured out how to fix the aging ropes and gears. If someone was ringing the bells, it meant they’d gotten inside. But how?
Kyle Carlyle was waiting on the bench by the square’s fountain, fiddling with a yo-yo. “You two look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he joked, but his grin faded when Rita told him about the chimes. Lane Larson, the athlete of the group, joined them a few minutes later, his soccer bag slung over one shoulder.
“I heard it too,” Lane said. “Midnight chimes. Nobody’s supposed to be in the tower.” His eyes gleamed. “Let’s investigate.”
Inside the tower’s entryway, the air smelled of old stone and musty wood. They moved quietly, their footsteps muffled by the thick layer of dust on the floor. Rita shined her flashlight beam across the walls. The bell ropes dangled in the center of the room, motionless.
“Wait—look at this!” Lane crouched down, pointing. A small rubber wedge lay near the ropes.
“And this.” Georgia held up a half-empty bag of birdseed, stuffed behind a dusty chair. Kyle, meanwhile, tugged at the window latch. It wobbled, bent and broken, as if it had been forced open.
“Someone’s been sneaking in,” Rita murmured.
“But who?” Georgia asked.
“And why are the bells only ringing at midnight?” Kyle added. “Ghostly prank, or...?”
Rita’s eyes sparkled. A mystery was unfolding, and she was determined to solve it.
🕵️♀️ Clues So Far
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A rubber wedge near the ropes.
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A bag of birdseed hidden behind a chair.
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A broken window latch.
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Bells ringing at midnight, even though the tower is supposed to be empty.
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Lane’s new drone controller sticking out of his bag.
Reader Challenge:
Can you figure out what caused the midnight chimes?
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